Published 2 years ago
by
Brian Sipple
, Updated January 7th, 2013 at 10:44 am,

It takes more than grit and gumption to stand out in the great sea of Half-Life 3 rumors. You have to be bold. Original. Willing to cross that bridge of ambiguity with a screenshot, an achievements leak, or a Gabe Newell photo-announcement. And, of course, at the very least, you always have dress the part.

An alleged source-close-the-matter is claiming detailed knowledge of Half-Life 3’s release schedule and development process. Not only has Valve’s shooter been predicted as a release “after 2013″, but the rumor posits that its final incarnation has evolved into an open-world shooter with several RPG elements.

Spotted this morning by the International Business Times, the report – published by the French gaming news website Journaldugamer- rides on an anonymous source who’s “close to Valve.” She claims that while Half-Life 3 has already spent significant time in development, “much work” remains on the project, and a release is likely to occur shortly after 2013 (which would almost guarantee a launch on next-gen consoles).

And the reason behind the schedule is what grabs our attention: The source claims that Half-Life 3 has undergone multiple overhauls regarding its design philosophy, and is now an open-world/RPG shooter strongly inspired, of all possibilities, by The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Describing development as “chaotic,” she says Half-Life 3 “failed to be a pure shooter,” began implementing exploration and puzzling elements, and is now focused on what would constitute a complete departure from Gordan Freeman’slinear lineage.

Which, admittedly, makes us doubtful of the source’s credibility. Granted, the time frame doesn’t belie logic – any triple-A title that hasn’t been announced at this point may be better off waiting until the next console generation, and given Valve’s ardor for pushing future boundaries, Half-Life 3’s aspirations are certain to be huge – but really? Development “chaos?” A Skyrim-inspired shooter? It would explain Valve and Valve boss Gabe Newell’s czarist no-Half-Life 3-information policy. But it would also contravene the studio’s long-held reputation as a corridor-shooter genius – a style that permeates its resume from Half-Life and Portal and Counter Strike to Team Fortress and Left 4 Dead.

That’s not to say it’s impossible, though; Metal Gear Solid – even if there has been growing discontent with its aging formula – looks early on like it might thrive from the open-world shift of Ground Zeroes. While Valve would have to reconcile the move with its famously die-hard Half-Life fanbase, their uncanny ability to eschew deadlines and public pressure would likely ensure we don’t see the game until it looks fantastic.

Ranters, how would you react if Half-Life 3 was announced as an open-world shooter, tinged with the elements of RPGs like The Elder Scrolls V:Skyrim? With the independent Half-Life remake Black Mesa releasing last week on Steam, could the company be prepping a new announcement on long-awaited title?

Oh my god. This is utter pig poo, what the hell valve? You make us wait for so damn long for a game most of us have been patiently eager to play, then you go and drop a massive dump on the entire fan base like this. I love Skyrim, but I didn’t buy it for the story. The characters are not immersive, the stories aren’t complex. But the gameplay/graphics are what make the game amazing. Skyrim’s story isn’t bad, it’s just not the wow factor of the games, nor is any RPG really. We all know how the game is going to end 3/4 of the time, there are not many shocks and twists, and if there are they’re not completely baffling.

Half Life is something else entirely. RPG elements will severely wound the story element of the half life games. An RPG wouldn’t work unless there were 3rd person elements as well, or a voice for the main character, or customisable options for the main character. If you do this to Half Life…jesus.

I am not even a die hard fan of half life. But it was the game that introduced me to games as a kid. Play to your strengths valve, you’re trying to fix something that isn’t broke. We love Half Life how it is now. Improve on what you have made, then release it. Not take everything that was half life out of the next game, and stuff it with stuff no one wants.

Hoping these RPG rumours are not true, and valve play to there strengths like before. Seems a lot of websites are reporting a lot of stuff about this, none of it good news to me.

On one hand I like the idea of a Half-Life world with RPG elements, on the other I would like to have my closure from HL2 first.

I have to say though, Skyrim sucked, because it didn’t have a great story. I don’t know what RPG games you’ve been playing, but the whole idea behind an RPG is that it has an immersive and complex story with excellent characters.

On that note, an RPG does not require any 3rd person element at all, that was a silly statement. Just as well, I’ve played tons of RPGs with no voice at all so that’s also a useless statement.
As for customization, you play as a bloody scientist! There’s no reason to believe that Gordon could not customize his HEV suit and weaponry.

This wouldn’t be taking everything we loved out, just adding new stuff in to make the game fresh, it’s been pretty much the same for ages.

If Valve thinks that they can take something spectacular, move out of their comfort zone and make it into something even more spectacular, then who are you to say that they aren’t using their strengths? If Valve thinks this could turn out well, I’m perfectly willing to accept and try it.

Also, please stop speaking your opinion and treating it as if it is the opinion of the entire fanbase.

Meh…I may be wrong but I think I no longer want Half Life 3 to come out. I feel that it’ll just be another case of Duke Nuke’em syndrome with it taking so long to make and being so over-hyped that it fails to be anything more than the end to a long-standing internet joke.

I would be ok with this, provided they ensure high enough quality, which is probably why they are taking that long. Valve can pour more money and enthusiasm into the creation of this game than any other company. So there is a good chance people will be positively surprised.

Well I have seriously thought for years now Valve has just been to chicken to carry the best shooter franchise in existence forward for fear of failure. This could be awesome in a Fallout sort of way. A war torn earth over by interdimensional invaders with rpg progression, and massive things to do, and places to see. It could be great or a it could be a huge steaming pile off poo.

Ive really grown to love Skyrim and Fallout: New Vegas, the graphics in New Vegas are pretty out of date now but there is so much playability. They feel like organic games with a whole universe to get lost in…that could be a problem for half-life if it is turned into an RPG, the world of Halflife just isnt big enough for something like this. I know these games have to start somewhere before building a universe but HL has always been a first person shooter.

Halo tried moving away from FPS with Halo Wars and it was such a bad move. Valve are much more intelligent, they wont make the same mistake…I really hope so!

Ummm…. no they didn’t? They never tried to move away from a fps with halo, Wars was mad by a completely different company to expand the Halo-Verse. No developing time was taken away from real Halos, and they made it very clear that it was just to fill the gap between the next halo. Also halo wars was a pretty god RTS…..

But i’m glad to hear of this, but I am a huge rpg fan and to me more rpg elements the better, with any game

its valve guys. do you honestly think that anything they touch wont be amazing?! common guys, so what? a bit of a change, they’ll make it work, they’ll push boundaries and it will be a freak’n kick but game, and to think other ways is (in more ways then one) an insult to this amazing company. Stop having a “Die Hard” look on things. plus do you want the last installment to be something that doesn’t live up to the awesomeness of the last 2? just saying, no matter what this game is going to be freak’n amazing

also i think i’d be sick as an open world RPG. with Valve doing it? they’ll give it a toatly new look.

Guys, saying it’s going to be inspired by Skyrim doesn’t mean you’re gonna be in the wilderness with pixies and frost trolls. It means you’ll be in an open world shooter where you might be able to equip special equipment or even gain XP and acquire new skills. And knowing Valve, I can see them pulling that off by saying, the more you use and test the gravity gun, the more you can enhance and improve on its technology and grab things from farther away, shoot things faster, farther, etc. Furthermore, an open-world Half Life doesn’t mean you’re going to be seeing rolling hills and buildings miles off in the distance. For the MOST part, you’re probably more likely to be in an open-world city for the majority of the time. Far Cry 3 is an excellent example of an open-world RPG shooter that does it right. Imagine that, only in the world of Half Life.